This morning we ported a lot earlier than yesterday. Nobody had official plans for today, so we decided to wing it. We all met up at 8:15 to come up with a plan. It was decided that most people wanted to do some sort of a beach. However, this would be tricky due to the fact that Belize is not a beachy place where we were.
Due to the fact that the port does not have large enough docks for the cruise ships we had to be tendered in. It was a 20 minute ride into shore. Of course there were many people who wanted to get off, so our group actually got split up before being tendered. Drew, Mom, and Dad went ahead of the rest of us and scoped it out. Dad was on the mission to figure out our plan for the day. By the time we arrived on the pier, Dad had a couple options for us. The best option was to go outside the gate, get a water taxi, and head to a small beach at Caye Caulker.
The next water taxi didn't leave for an hour so we had a chance to walk around the port. Thom enjoys bartering with the people. He got a pair of sunglasses, a Belize flag, a Hawaiian shirt that says "You better Belize it" and I got another "speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil" group of monkeys and a Christmas Ornament.
After shopping a bit we met back up and headed out for the Caye. In order to get to the water taxi we had to go out of the gates. Of course we got heckled a bit for things like taxis and tours, but we just said we had plans. Walking through the area outside the gate you could see the beginning of how poor the country was. Then we arrived at the water taxi station. It was very true to the culture. I think we were the only tourist people there, the rest were locals. It cost $30 BZD (Belize Dollars) or $15 American dollars for a round trip to Caye Caulker.
At 10:30 it was our chance to load the water taxi boat. We were close to last to getting on. Saying that it was packed is an understatement. There were people nearly sitting on each other. There were benches around the outside, but also in the middle. There were all ages of people including a baby which was only a couple months and a dog. Due to the fact that it was so packed the lady came in and asked for a group of 3 to get off to take a different boat. We offered a group of 11. So we got off the first very stinky, close quarters boat, and moved to another boat.
This boat had more room and a bit more of the touristy crowd. Mom, Nolan, Drew, and Thom sat at the back of the boat, while the rest of us were up at the front. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but was very beautiful. After 45 minutes or so we arrived at Caye Caulker. We weaved in between other islands so we were never quite sure where we were going. As we were going occasionally you would see little houses pop up in the middle of the ocean. We were told these were basically fishing houses. Fishers would go out all day in their boat and then would find a fishing house and stay there for the night. That way they didn't have to go all the way back into town. They were open to anyone. We also saw a huge house in the middle of the ocean. Come to find out, it was the owner of the ship tenders that built himself his own private island with his own house on it. It looked like it was still under construction.
Caye Caulker is a town of about 3,000 residents. It truly had the Belize feel. From one side of the island you could see the other. To cross the entire island took 2 minute walking. The only motorized vehicle I saw was the big truck moving sand, other than that all I saw was golf carts and bicycles. I would not define it as touristy at all. After walking around a bit we found a small beach. It was more of a laying on the beach reading a book beach instead of a swimming beach. Dad was the first to head out with his snorkeling gear. The sand turned to clay which turned into sinking clay. It was like walking in snow, at different times you could sink up to your knees. There was also seaweed. There was a tiny shopping market across the street from where we were so some people went over there to explore and get a drink. After that Nolan, Drew, and Owen went out into the ocean to meet Dad. Anne got a fabulous burrito from a local little hut. Then Ellen, Anne, and I headed out. As we were walking a local hollered at us come back and jump of the dock. He said there were yellow sting ray and sea urchin out there and we shouldn't be walking there--oops! We never saw any and Dad and Nolan said they didn't see anything through snorkeling.
We really just walked around and enjoyed being at a local place. Thom and Ken met a local from Colorado who said he came there six years ago and never left. I enjoyed walking around. Toward the end Thom and I stopped at a little drink hut to get a drink. He enjoyed the Belizean beer, Belikin, and I got a piña colada. It was by far the best piña colada I've ever had. It had fresh coconut and pineapple and he added a touch of cherry grenadine. It was delicious. Then we headed back to catch the next boat back. In order to use the bathroom anywhere you had to buy another drink so I bought another piña colada so we could use the bathroom. This one tasted much different than the first, but was still completely delicious.
On the ride back to Belize City Thom and I got to ride on the upper seats of the taxi. It was beautiful being able to look around and see everything.
Once we were back on the port Anne, Nolan, Dad, Thom and I grabbed a bite to eat at the Wet Lizard. Dad got killa shrimp (when asked if it was spicy or not the waitress said it was mild--it was not!), Thom and I got coconut shrimp, and Nolan and Anne tried the Belizean sampler dish. Everything was delicious.
Then Thom and I walked around the pier a bit before heading on board. We needed to be ready to go for geography trivia at 5:00. However, once it began it was not geography trivia because the person who was supposed to lead it was sick. So we all played regular trivia. We did ok...not great though!
Then it was off to dinner. I had garlic soup, shrimp cocktail, and tiger shrimp. For dessert I had a bread pudding with caramel glaze. All of it was phenomenal. I do think the highlight of the dinner was convincing Owen and Nate to try escargot. Owen had no idea what it was and actually thought it was okay...until he found out what it was. Thom and Dad wore their Hawaiian shirts so toward the end of dinner Ken raced to his room to put his on. He was super speedy--made it in 2 minutes and 45 seconds!
After dinner there wasn't much going on. Mom and I looked at the different photos that had been taken while others went shopping. Thom, Drew, and Nolan signed up for a whisky tasting so they went to that at 8:00. Mom and I put on our swimming suits and met Ellen and Margaret in the hot tub. Dad, Nate, and Owen watched Skyfall on the big screen by the pool and under the stars.
As I was heading back to the room I met Thom in the hall who was all excited about an offer to buy Johnnie Walker Blue Label (over $250-$300) in US for only $140. This kind will no longer be able to buy in a few years as they have stopped production. Some of the bottles of the green label which are no longer available are selling for thousands of dollars. The man who led the tasting told them this is just a bottle you put on display and don't drink. So we bought a bottle. He also received a flask and a rolling bag for his purchase.
Then we got pizza and watched a bit of the cultural dance show (put on by the crew) before heading to bed.
Tomorrow--Costa Maya!
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